can water cause headaches?

Hmmmm, I've never heard of water giving people headaches... but dieting definitely does, it's pretty common to get headaches when you change your eating routine.

If you previously had been drinking a lot of soda, you could be going through caffeine withdrawal. It's safer to taper off your caffeine consumption slowly than quit cold turkey.

I drink about 16 glasses of water a day. It's not the amount of water so much as the nutrients in your body. Water flushes everything out including sugar and potassium. When these two levels go down, the headaches start. So make sure you eat 3 - 4 pieces of fruit in between some of that water to keep your levels up. Good luck!

There is such thing as overhydrating! Be careful the intake of water in respect to your usual intake. TOO much water can cause a shift in electrolytes in your body and brain causing problems. If you normally only take in 8 glasses of water, and then suddenly take in 11, it wouldn't be out of the question for your body to react negatively to the shift in electrolytes. Esecially if you are not doing something that is causing you to lose the fluid such as exercise.

8 glasses of water is sufficient for normal intake. People tend to think that more is better, but not always. Just be sure if you are taking in 8 glasses, you do that each day. If you exercise and sweat or are out in the heat sweating, of course you should take in little more water. But don't overdo it.

So the answer to your question, it is "possible" for too much water to cause a headache. Look up overhydration, it's a serious matter when people try to take in too much water in efforts to lose weight thinking more is better.

Dieting itself also can cause you to have headaches. Sometimes eating an orange can help as well as a small amount of caffeine intake. (hence the reason caffeine is included in a lot of migraine medications)

Best of luck to you!!!

p.s. I am a nurse and have also studied nutrition in college as well as working very closely with dietitians over the years in my line of work. I'm one of those that wants a "reason" for doing something (the nurse in my I guess) with my diet so I always asked a lot of questions about the reason behind what the dieitians told me rather than just accept their "directions". That's why the people at Quick Weight Loss didn't like me much...LOL I wanted to know WHY they were telling me to do something and the science behind it. I actually knew more than they knew or expected me to know and questioned things more. When it comes to my body, it's my right!

Make sure the water you are drinking is good quality water. Don't drink distilled water long term, as it can leach minerals from your body over time. Pay attention to how many ounces of water you need each day, and to how many ounces your big glass holds. If you think the balance is off, cut back a little and work your way up until you find the right balance for you.

Try supplementing your electrolytes when you get that headache - magnesium, potassium, sodium, etc.

Caffeine withdrawals are most likely, especially if you've stopped drinking caffeinated beverages recently. caffeine headaches usually hit around the same time everyday too(usually mid afternoon) and will gradually lessen over a week or two.

It's highly unlikely you would have any cerebral edema (brain swelling) from only 8 glasses a day. The only reason that would occur without some underlying disease is if you have been chronically and severely dehydrated for awhile and then flood your body with water but I doubt that's the case here. Also with increased intracranial pressure you'd most likely have associated neurological symptoms like blurred vision, respiratory problems, etc.

I absolutely agree with Mjudd. Whilst there is a recognized medical condition that we call "water intoxication", it simply doesn't occur at the amounts that you say you're drinking. An excessive amount of water intake can interfere with the balance of sodium and potassium in the body, but you'd be far more likely to experience muscle cramping and weakness as opposed to headaches.

The most common cause of headaches early in a dietary change is restriction in sugar and caffeine. Have you noticeably cut back on either of those?

Actually, thirst is a survival mechanism that kicks in once your hydration deficit is nearing danger levels. Is your wee pale yellow and clear? Are you drinking two litres of water a day? If the answer is no, you aren't sufficiently hydrated. When your body experiences thirst, it's telling you that it's been neglected.

Actually, thirst is a survival mechanism that kicks in once your hydration deficit is nearing danger levels. Is your wee pale yellow and clear? Are you drinking two litres of water a day? If the answer is no, you aren't sufficiently hydrated. When your body experiences thirst, it's telling you that it's been neglected.

I know this to be true! We got lost when we went hiking one year and were running low on water so we had to ration. By the time we found our way to a service road everyone had headaches, our tongues were dry, and our urine was a very dark yellow. One of the group was later hospitalized and given fluids. The doctor at the time explained that you don't know you are dehydrated until you are thirsty!

Sounds like withdrawal from caffein or sugar that you may have been consuming prior to getting strict ??? It will go away within a week or so.

oh didn't see the date. nvm

Hyponatremia (also called "water intoxication") is caused by excessive water intake. Others here have mentioned the loss of electrolytes that can occur--leading to very serious illness. It is worthwhile to try to increase fluid intake as it helps to flush out metabolic waste. But the "dose makes the poison" and too much water can be a problem. Most people just vomit up the water when too much has been taken in--but before that happens, a person could be weak, dizzy, and head-achey.

I have drank twice as much water as I normally do and I've had a headache for about 5 hours. I was wondering if too much water could be the problem, besides cutting out bread and pasta today, drinking more water is the only thing I changed.